TYSON Goddess, she had me—she had completely dominated an alpha. I was addicted, spending all day going through the motions, waiting for my next fix. And I wouldn't be fully satisfied until I had her marked as mine. The urge had grown stronger with every time we did the deed, which was now every night, several times a night. I was barely sleeping, and I didn't care, greedily keeping her in my bed until she firmly insisted she had to go home. "Good night?" Blake smirked at me as I entered his office. "Seems like you were up pretty late." I couldn't help but smile to myself. "Sorry 'bout that. Will try to keep it down moving forward." "I have someone coming in an hour or so to soundproof my bedroom. Jasmine and I realized the sounds go both ways." Blake smiled and shook his head. "Guess I probably should have given you a heads up. Just felt a little awkward about it." I rubbed my neck. "Hey, no worries. You're not the only one that never said anything. My sister is just as guilty.
TYSON After we finished rearranging all the furniture upstairs, I found myself feeling weak with a pulsing in my head. My vision was starting to blur a bit too. My lungs ached and the familiar wet sensation flooded my esophagus. I quickly ran into the bathroom, just in time to hack up blood into the toilet. Fuck, I really had to lay down. I flushed the red liquid, quickly rinsed my mouth out, and then stumbled into my new bedroom, falling onto the pillow that had the strongest scent of Gigi. I inhaled deeply, taking in all her amazing perfume, thankful it clung so well to fabric and lasted so long. It was the most amazing scent I'd ever smelled, and I knew I'd have to ask her what it was again. I couldn't even believe it kept slipping my mind to ask. I supposed I'd always been thinking about other things when she was with me. And even as my whole body burned with the wolfsbane pulsing through it, and my head ached in a way it never had in my life, I still had a smile on my face as
GINGERI smiled to myself, continuously checking the text messages as they came in. Goddess, what was wrong with me? I'd never let a guy wrap me up so much in him before. Okay, every time I even looked at a guy, I tended to think he was going to be my boyfriend and maybe future husband. But not to this level!Tyson Chicken: New geography to explore tonight ;)Me: What, did you grow a second cock or something?Tyson Chicken: Damn, think witches can make that happen?Tyson Chicken: Second one I'll ask to be anal sizeMe: You're obsessedTyson Chicken: With your ass? YesMe: Don't you have some important alpha stuff to do or something?Tyson Chicken: Like fuck your ass?Me: That is not even remotely sexy or convincingTyson Chicken: Come over and I'll convince you another wayMe: No can do. My parents are complaining I'm never home anymore. Promised I'd hang with them tonightTyson Chicken: Damn cockblockersMe: You have a hand :)Me: Two if you need one for your second cock tooTyson Ch
BLAKE "Baby, can you watch Libby for a few hours today? Me and Erin want to go get some mani-pedis." Lucy threw her arms around Luke as he worked at his desk across from me. His look said everything. His shoulders tensed, nostrils flared, and he moved his hands from the keyboard, tightening them into fists. Honestly, I had to give him credit for being possibly the world's most patient person for having dealt with Lucy for so long. While she did have some positive qualities—she was very pretty, had bigger balls than most men, and wasn't a bad person overall. But, damn, she was fucking annoying, irresponsible, and had turned out to be a huge lush, especially in the past few months. "Are you serious?" Luke snapped. "What?" She asked innocently, fluttering her eyelashes. He let out a deep breath. "I've been going through the training rosters today." "And?" Lucy pulled away from Luke. "And did you have something to tell me?" He turned in his chair so he was facing her. She rolled h
GINGER On Tuesday morning, I woke to my cell phone vibrating next to me. Tyce: Don’t forget last shot today. I'd take you but promised Blake I'd fill in for training. But lmk if you can't get there and I'll make it work. I took a deep breath. I did enjoy Tyce's company when he brought me to my appointments. And as much as I acted tough, I really wasn't a big fan of hospitals. And, okay, I selfishly wanted to spend more time with Tyce. But I didn’t want to take him away from his duties. I could find my own way there. After I showered, I checked my leg once again. It was starting to look much better and was well on the way to healing, although I supposed I wouldn't really be enjoying any beach days or pool parties this summer, at least not around other werewolves. But there was always next year, and I'd be back at school around humans soon enough, where I wouldn't have to be so diligent with hiding all my wounds. After getting dressed, I made my way downstairs, where I found my mom
GINGER I'd managed to avoid Heidi for a whole week. Don't ask me how that was even possible when I had to see her at temple services both Sunday night and Monday morning, standing there like a perfect goddamn mate to Hunter, as if I hadn't caught her friend between her legs days earlier. I had only the Moon Goddess to thank that Heidi would never confront me about what happened in front of our parents, especially at temple where anyone could easily overhear. But she kept texting and calling me. Ignore, ignore, ignore. I never wanted to talk to that hypocritical bitch again. She was no longer my sister. I didn't even care what explanation she had for what I'd walked in on. Okay, I was dying to know. I mean, clearly there was way more to the prude Heidi than I'd ever imagined. But still—my blood boiled at the thought of being near her. I was grateful to finally have something to take my mind off everything. I'd be starting my new job that day. Tyce had taken my resume to the former l
GINGER After he left, I turned back to the task at hand and got started. The first entry was about an elderly werewolf that had begun to lose his fur. The doctor who had observed the phenomenon concluded it was due to old age, although it had never been observed previously in other werewolves. A little after noon, someone came up behind me, startling me. I jumped in my seat and turned to come face to face with Tyce. "What are you doing here?" I exclaimed. "I always forget how easy it is to sneak up on you." Tyce snickered and bent down to give me a kiss. "I wanted to stop by and bring you lunch for your first day of work." "Oh, my mom already had that covered. She beat you to it." "Damn, and I thought I'd be the hero of the day." "What'd you bring anyway?" I asked, looking up at the tote bag he had in hand. "Okay, I can't really take credit for it. Connie, the packhouse cook made it. I just cut you a slice. She made some meat lasagna." "Oooh, that sounds really good!" "I eve
GINGER On Friday evening, I came home to Paige and Heidi both staring at me from the kitchen table. "Don't you dare run!" Paige got up and I swear she was ready to use one of her warrior moves on me. "Goddess, okay! I'm here!" I replied. "Now sit." Paige pulled out a chair and gave me a hard stare. Damn, she was actually pretty good at giving a warrior look. Did she learn that in training? I rolled my eyes and plopped myself down. Heidi didn't say a word. Her whole posture was stooped and her chin trembled. Served her right. Paige started, "I'm disappointed with both of you." "Disappointed with me?" I shouted. "What have I done? Besides defend myself against Heidi's slut shaming? Especially when she was the one that was slutting it up all along, acting like she's Miss Innocent!" "Gigi," Paige warned. "It's okay, I deserve it," Heidi spoke up, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry, Gigi. I shouldn't have been as mean as I was." "You're only sorry because you got caught," I snapped bac
TRIGGER WARNING: This final scene contains torture and is not recommended to the squeamish. It is not necessary to the plot of the book and was only added to give readers some satisfaction with tying up some loose ends. --- TYSON I picked up my ringing phone. "Sara caught the culprits," Trav said, not even bothering to say hello. "Damn," I replied. "She's already tortured them, but offered to let you finish them off. You know, for pack alliance reasons." "I have a feeling that allowing someone else to do the final deed is a gift of generosity in her eyes." I chuckled to myself. Trav's mate was something else. But I'd be damned if I didn't want to watch the motherfuckers that killed my grandfather take their final breaths. Before I hung up, I asked, "Can I bring Dad?" "Obviously that's still a bit of a touchy subject but…" his voice trailed. "But you know that Dad, more than anyone, would want to be the one that does it." I finished his sentence for him. Trav let out a breath.
*Three weeks later* GINGER "Goddess, it's been such a long week!" I flopped onto the bed after showering and throwing on some sweats on a Saturday night in late October. "Your alpha schedule is no joke," I griped to Tyce. "I'm ready to go to bed now." "Do you think you could stay awake for a little bit longer?" He came over and sat on the bed. "Because I have a surprise that just came today." "A surprise? Have I been so busy that I didn't even realize it's my birthday already?" I joked. "It's a 'just because' kind of surprise." "Goddess, stop, Tyce. I can't do all this sweetness. I need a dentist! I think I'm getting cavities." "Okay, the surprise isn't really for you. It's for Splinter anyway. Are you ready for me to bring it in?" "Well, if it's not for me, you should ask Splinter," I teased. "Splinter already said he's ready." "Okay, rat whisperer." Tyce gave me a cute little smile that made my stomach flip-flop. Fuck, why did he affect me so much? Even though we'd now bee
*Almost three weeks later*JASMINE"Gigi!" Paige and Heidi screamed as their sister made her way out into the airport arrivals area. They both rushed over, wrapping their arms tightly around her. Her parents followed, doing the same.Blake grabbed her luggage from her, and then I gave Gigi my own hug. "Welcome home, well, sort of," I said."Thanks," Gigi hugged me back. "And how are the miracle pups?" She asked, looking into my double stroller. "Wow, they're so big compared to the last time I saw them!""Do you want to hold one of them?" I offered. They were staring up at her with their big blue eyes."I'd love that," she replied, with a big smile on her face. I pulled Aria out of the stroller and handed her to Gigi. "You're so much cuter in person than over Zoom, Aria," Gigi swooned, cradling her in her arms."Welcome, Tyce," I said, pulling my cousin in for a hug next."Congrats, again, Jaz," he replied, hugging me back. "We've been looking forward to this run since you left to go h
TYSON "Okay, so what's the story?" I asked Sara as she navigated the boat back to the Spruce Winter Pack. "There's not much to it. I swam back like I said I would. I found a storage closet, that I was easily able to break into and steal some clothes. Then I walked the dock and picked the boat that looked the least fucked up and hotwired it. And here I am." "Damn!" "She's amazing," Trav remarked. "Best mate." Sara glanced his way and gave him a smile. "You did really good, Blondie Baby Badass," Trav swooned. I choked, trying so hard not to laugh. I couldn't believe that was actually the nickname he'd come up for her and she was okay with it. But, I supposed, that was the mate bond. "Tyce, they're waking!" Blake called for me. I walked past Gigi and Jasmine, who were snuggled up together with the pups. We'd found a spare blanket in the boat that we'd wrapped around them to keep them warm. I entered the inner part of the boat, closing the door behind me, and made my way to the v
GINGER "Is it possible for her to go into active labor so quickly?" Tyce asked. "I don't know," I replied. "They're alpha pups," Blake added. "I think things progress much faster with alpha pu—" He didn't finish his sentence as he let out another moan. "Fuck!" "Blake, I think I might be going into active labor," Jasmine cried out. "Try walking," I said. "I think walking is supposed to help." She nodded, and Blake helped her back up. She began walking in circles as we stood around and watched. Every few minutes, another contraction would roll over her, and she and Blake would flinch in pain. "Okay, we need to make a plan," Blake said. "It's very fucking possible she's going to give birth here on an island, in the middle of the ocean, in the woods." He winced, clenching his hands into fists, his arms shaking. "Goddess, what are the fucking chances? And I thought giving birth on an airplane would be bad." "Gigi, I think you're going to have to help deliver the baby, because you kn
GINGER "Admit it, this is just as much of a farce as your shit framing job," Sara aggressively yelled. "What the fuck are you talking about?" Alpha Vic turned to glare at her. Before Sara could answer, a loud explosion rang out far ahead, as if a bomb had gone off. We all covered our ears in reaction to the loud boom, the smell of explosives thick in the air. "Oh, shit! What was that?" Alpha Vic shouted. Suddenly, a large group of mice sprinted under our feet, likely running from whatever that explosion had been. I tensed and looked toward Tyce. And I couldn't believe it, but he hadn't shifted. He stood there, still as a stone, his hands clenched, and it took everything in me not to celebrate right then and there. "The windmills!" Alpha Vic's father yelled, snapping my attention back to reality. Before anyone had time to react, Alpha Vic and his father began running in the direction of where the boom had sounded. "Gigi, stay here with Jasmine," Tyce shouted to me, and then took
GINGER "Mmm," Tyce moaned into my ear as the alarm went off, waking us early on Monday morning. I was still getting used to waking up before the sun rose. But this seemed to be Tyce's schedule, and I couldn’t believe that he'd functioned all summer like this considering how late we'd stayed up on many nights. "Do we have to get up?" I moaned, snuggling closer to him. He chuckled. "Time for my morning injection. Then breakfast and morning run before temple." "Goddess, your schedule is so intense." "I thought you wanted to be a warrior," he teased, nibbling on my nose. "But if you wanted a quickie, I could be persuaded to stay in bed a little longer." "When I see proof you have complete control of your wolf, that'll be on the table again." I gave him a playful shove. "Hopefully on the table, the counter, the wall, the floor, the chair…" his voice trailed. He chuckled again, "and in the backdoor." "Okay, Tyce." I grinned to myself. "I'll make a deal with you. I'll let you put it i
TYSON Before the end of the day, the packhouse had filled up with Blake, Jasmine, and her parents. Terri made the trek back from school. And then we got word that my uncle, whom we hadn't seen in years, had arrived for the funeral with his family. I supposed death was the one thing that really brought everyone out. I barely had the chance to introduce Terri to Gigi or even process everyone that was making an appearance when it was time to leave for the service. Gigi and I rode over with my mom, dad, and grandma. I got shafted to the middle seat with Gigi and my grandma on either side of me. My dad was uncharacteristically quiet during the drive. I got the idea that he was taking this a lot harder than he let on. My grandma, on the other hand, didn't hide her feelings at all as she sobbed quietly the entire ride. Blake pulled up in my car next to us as we parked. I'd given it to him to borrow for the duration of their trip. As my dad held my grandma's arm and pulled her along toward
TYSON On Saturday, I spent the morning training and running patrol stations. It was nice getting out and doing something active to get my mind off things. After an early lunch, I trained Gigi for another two hours. "I'd like to start training you in your wolf form," I said. "But in order to do that, you're going to have to join my pack so I can communicate with you." "Okay," she replied, but I could sense hesitation and maybe even sadness. "Do you not want to join my pack?" I asked, coming closer, taking her hands in mine. Her skin was like ice. Even though we'd kept warm by staying active, her hands were still cold, and I didn't want to let them go, trying to warm them for her. "I do…" her voice trailed. "But?" She sighed. "Please tell me, Gigi. I won't be upset. I just want to know what's wrong." "It'll just be so final. I'll lose the last bit of attachment I have to my pack and family." She put her head on my chest and I pulled her closer to me. "I want you to feel at home